Many electronic devices require specially marked labels that indicate information mandated by government regulations. The information on the label typically indicates, for regulatory compliance and auditing purposes, a particular configuration of the device to which the label is fixed. For example, wireless communication cards and digital video disk (DVD) players are electronic devices that required such regulatory labels.
Wireless communication cards are commonly used in electronic computer systems, such as notebook and desktop computers, to enable the systems to connect to a wireless local area network (WLAN) for accessing the Internet or other systems on the network. Various countries designate specific channels and frequency ranges for unlicensed use by electronic computer systems and devices. Accordingly, a wireless communication card is configured to use specified channels and specified frequencies to comply with the regulations promulgated by the country into which the card will be sold and used. Moreover, the wireless communication card must have a regulatory label attached to it indicating the specific configuration of the card. By affixing such a label to the card, an end user is informed of the card's configuration, and an auditing agency can quickly determine whether the card is being shipped to the correct destination for regulatory purposes.
Similarly, a DVD player is configured to play DVDs in a particular region. The regulatory label must be attached to the DVD player prior to entering the retail market, and indicates the appropriate region code corresponding to the region into which the DVD player will be sold. The regulatory label prevents an end user from attempting to resell the DVD player in another region.
In both examples, the regulatory label is typically applied by an operator during the manufacturing or assembly process of either the device itself (e.g., the DVD player) or of the system (e.g., the computer system) into which the device (e.g., wireless communication card) is installed. Because different countries/regions can have different configurations, the operator can manually mark the appropriate configuration on the label. This process, however, is time-consuming and error prone. In another approach, the label can be marked by a programmed marking tool prior to applying the label to the device such that the operator is not required to manually mark the label. This approach, however, does not eliminate the risk of attaching the marked label to the wrong device, i.e., the indication on the label does not correspond to the device's configuration. Alternatively, a different label can be provided for each different configuration and the operator can choose the appropriate label to attach to the card. This process, however, is also error prone because it does not eliminate operator error and it is also expensive because the manufacturer must now stock a plurality of different labels each having a distinct part number.
Accordingly, what is needed is an improved method and system for providing a label with the correct regulatory markings for a device. The method and system should eliminate the risk of marking a label incorrectly or attaching a marked label that indicates an erroneous configuration. In addition, the method and system should simplify the assembly process and reduce the costs associated with managing multiple inventory items. The present invention addresses such a need.